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| Anger as leaky pool closes sports
centre |
Shut: Oasis Sports Centre |
SWIMMERS and keep-fit enthusiasts were turned away in their hundreds
after the Oasis Sports Centre in Covent Garden closed on Thursday.
A leak, believed to be from one of the two pools at the Endell Street
centre, flooded a basement plant room which provides electricity
throughout the building. The pool is expected to reopen on Saturday.
Just four months after Greenwich Leisure took over management of
four of Camden Council’s leisure centres, it could now face
a £100,000 repair bill, although the final decision on who
pays has been delayed until an investigation is completed.
It is the second time in 12 months the centre has been shut by electrical
failures.
A week-long closure occurred in 2004 when it was under the management
of Holmes Place.
Swimmer Roger Evans, of Lissenden Gardens, Kentish Town, said: “I
arrived on a sunny Saturday afternoon at a shuttered Oasis.
“There were many schoolkids outside, disappointed that they
were unable to use what is one of the few outdoor swimming pools
in London.
“A Greenwich Leisure attendant directed customers miles away
to Kentish Town or Mornington sports centres, neither of which has
the range of facilities or classes as the Oasis.
“Why couldn’t management have arranged for customers to
go to the YMCA around the corner, as Holmes Place did last time
there was a similar problem?”
A Town Hall press official said: “We would like to apologise
for the inconvenience caused to users of Oasis.
“Staff are outside the centre handling customer inquiries and
offering free swim vouchers as a gesture of goodwill.
“Customers are being advised to visit Kentish Town Sports Centre
or Mornington Sports and Fitness Centre, which are open as normal.” |
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